


Silence—The Quiet Job

by crayonbreakygal



Category: A Quiet Place (Movies - Krasinski), Leverage
Genre: Aliens, Drama, F/M, Survival Horror, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:53:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25539835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crayonbreakygal/pseuds/crayonbreakygal
Summary: Silence was everything.  If not, you were dead.
Relationships: Alec Hardison/Parker, Alec Hardison/Parker/Eliot Spencer, Parker/Eliot Spencer (Leverage), Sophie Devereaux/Nathan Ford
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	Silence—The Quiet Job

**Author's Note:**

> I truly do think that setting characters from a universe into another is very difficult. You have to know two separate shows/movies. I've seen most of Leverage at least a dozen times each. I've seen A Quiet Place twice. That makes it harder in which to place our team into a situation where they have to be quiet to survive. I may have taken a few liberties here and there. It does follow along the movie plotline somewhat. So it could take place in the same time period. Just a warning. It's violent if that isn't your thing.

Silence—The Quiet Job

Takes place a few years after season five.

Quiet. Silence. Leaves rustled. The wind blew. Rats scurried, but even they knew to walk lightly, quietly. 

Food. Quiet food. No chips. No crunching. No noise. Silence. Silence in eating. Silence in drinking. Silence in everything that you did.

Or you were dead. That was a fact.

They could be quiet. Three of them spent their lives being quiet. Being a thief, being quiet sometimes meant life or death. It wasn’t just tiptoeing around a corner. It wasn’t just making sure the guards were in the other hallway when you stole a masterpiece. It meant that every single interaction, whether it be with another human or the ground on which you walked, you had to be almost silent. 

Gone were the rappelling equipment, the high heels, the ice in a glass, the tapping at a keyboard, the fist connecting with something solid. They each had to give up something to make sure that they didn’t give up everything. Silence. Because if noise was made, it could be deadly. Ask them how they knew.

Parker took to being quiet the easiest. She was always the one who could sneak up on them or anyone for that matter, steal what she needed and fade into the woodwork without anyone the wiser. Her body was honed to be perfectly quiet in every sense of the word.

Eliot could be quiet as a mouse, having learned how to move, even though his specialty was to punch it out. Those times when he had to be perfectly still, to draw whoever in and take them down, made him just as quiet as Parker. He could be quiet, silent. It had meant life or death for him many times in his life.

Sophie wasn’t always quiet nor reserved until she had to be. Minus her killer heels, the fact that she often had to fade away, be quiet, and listen made the transition easier than she thought. The fact that she couldn’t talk, that was an issue. Sign language helped, but it couldn’t convey sometimes what she wanted the others to know. It worked, mostly.

Hardison though. He tripped over his own two feet on occasion. He was used to tapping away, finding them the best way in or out of a situation as it arose. He loved to talk, have a running commentary during a job. He wasn’t reserved, nor was he quiet as he walked. He could tiptoe through the internet like a ghost. He couldn’t be a ghost in the real world. He was learning. He was a quick study.

Just as Nate was. Watching, waiting, learning, listening. Silent. He had saved the rest of them early on because he figured out the need for silence. If you weren’t silent, you were dead. Plain and simple.

The five of them were a unit, working in tandem to survive. With their skills, they had been able to survive. Hardison had been working on something, anything to repel the damn things. Just when they thought he was making progress, it fell apart. Working in the bunker, he could work on the problem while the rest of them kept the group alive. It wasn’t always that way.

First Day

“What the hell is that?” Eliot cried out as something large ran at them full speed from the end of the block.

“We need to get out of here. Now. Call Soph and Nate. We’re bailing,” Hardison told him as he scrambled for his computer.

“Are those? No way. Aliens?”

“Always wanted to fight an alien.”

Hardison wanted to slap both of them, to tell them that this was serious and that they needed to go.

“Nate? Where are you?” Eliot said into his phone. “Yeah, we got a situation.”

“Hardison is being a big baby,” Parker pointed out, loading supplies into the van.

“Yeah, I know. Not sure what has him so freaked. Here, let him talk to you.”

A few seconds longer and they’d all have been dead, eviscerated right then and there. Someone else had gotten in the way, making it easier for them to escape. Which meant that someone else died so that they could live.

Hardison rolled out of the way just as a large appendage came down, spearing into the ground right where his head had been mere moments before. The screaming followed, people scrambling to get out of the way.

Parker grabbed his hand and ran, Eliot on his heels. As they ducked behind a building, they watched as the creatures tore up person after person. There was nothing they could do. Eliot pulled out his phone, putting it on silent and typed a reply to Nate.

“Safehouse. Now.”

It took them the better part of a day to get there. Sophie and Nate joined them the next day, battered and bruised but alive. Death and destruction were spreading, and no one knew what to do.

“We gotta go to ground. This thing is not gonna end any time soon.”

Eliot was right. They were screwed.

“What are the triggers? What do these things want?”

Instead of knocking or ringing the doorbell, Nate entered their safehouse quickly and quietly, holding up his finger to his lips.

“What?” Parker whispered.

The fear on Sophie’s face was apparent. She was shaking, dirt coating her hands. Or was that dirt? If Eliot was right, it was blood, dried blood. Not hers. 

Maybe they knew what was happening.

Eliot opened his mouth to speak. Sophie moved so fast, putting her hand over his mouth to shut him up. Eliot’s eyes widened, anger flashing at her intrusion. They needed a plan. And to figure out a plan, they needed to hash it out.

“Pencil,” Nate mouthed to Parker, placing his finger to his mouth to be quiet again.

Quietly, Parker found a pen and some paper. The paper made a bit of noise as she retrieved it from the desk. Hardison didn’t understand why Sophie tensed up, looking at the windows at Parker fumbling the paper.

Noise attracts them. Any noise, Nate wrote. He carefully wrote as quietly as he could. Hardison watched as both Eliot and Parker’s eyes widened. That explained it all, why every single time they thought they were in the clear, one of those damn creatures appeared. 

Is the electricity on? Nate wrote.

Yes, Hardison shook his head.

Shit, Nate mouthed. We gotta get out of here as quickly as possible.

Our bags are ready, Eliot silently mouthed back. Nate stopped Eliot’s hand as it descended to the keys on the counter. He stopped the hitter’s movements just before his fingers touched the noisy object. Sophie had put her hand over her mouth, stifling a gasp of surprise.

We walk? Parker silently asked.

We walk, Nate answered.

Where? Where would they go where they could talk, strategize, figure out how to defeat whatever this was? Hardison didn’t have a clue. Nate must have some ideas, or he wouldn’t have told them they had to move.

First Month

The first month was treacherous. Dangerous. Eliot had learned how to combat the things quietly. Luckily, they had only encountered the creatures twice. Twice was enough. The ugly scar forming on Eliot’s cheek was enough reminder that they needed to stay as quiet as they could. 

Sophie longed to sink into a steaming tub full of water, to wash away the dirt and grime. She couldn’t remember when the last time she could even wipe away the dirt on her face. Her fingers and feet were coated with grime, sweat, guts of who knew what. 

They did figure out how to access water. A stream was a great place to soak your toes, even if it was cold. Sophie didn’t mind. Any reason to wash the dirt was good. The rushing water didn’t attract the creatures. One time, Sophie sat in the water, soaking, even though she was numb by the time she got out. It felt good to be a bit cleaner. 

They could whisper too, next to the rushing water. Nate had wanted to chance it. They needed to plan. This was the only way they had to talk to one another. 

Sophie watched as Parker dunked her head under once more. The water was really cold, causing goosebumps to pop out all over Parker’s arms and legs. Eliot stood guard as the rest of them stripped, washing as fast as they could. Their clothes on the other hand needed to be thrown away. Holes everywhere, blood dried, crusted. Dirt caked here and there. They couldn’t afford to lose what they had, so Nate and Hardison scrubbed as best they could while the two of them washed. They would switch jobs once Sophie and Parker were done getting clean.

Parker looked like a water nymph as she dived in and out, silently of course. Nate was down to his boxers, scrubbing whatever clothes he could grab. Sophie could see the scar across his shoulder, puckering the skin. Eliot had done his best to sew it up, without anything to numb it. It took everything in Nate not to cry out as Eliot threaded the needle through his skin, back and forth, back and forth. Sophie thought that he should just pass out. She would have. But that might mean you’d wake up screaming. Better to get it over with. She held him right after, as the tears streamed down his face, eyes red, limbs shaking. The slice had been deep, almost too deep for Eliot to sew together. They were damn lucky that there was water around that day, to help wash the wound. 

Gone was Hardison’s optimism. He scowled at everything now. Hunching over, he vigorously scrubbed the shirt that was in his hand. Nate gestured at the man to quieten down, but he didn’t. The waterfall would dampen the noise, not eliminate it altogether. It took Parker and her gentle insistence for Hardison to stop making too much noise. The soap in Parker’s hand glided over Hardison’s shoulder, down his back, up the other arm into his hair. Sophie almost giggled with the thought that Hardison now had hair. He’d always cut it very close to his head before. The growth of the beard matched the growth on his head.

Nate’s hair and beard were turning gray. Sophie smirked as she looked over at Eliot. He too was starting to turn gray, although she’d never tell him because the same thing was happening to her hair. Her nails were ragged, feet had plenty of blisters and calluses. One had to go barefoot or with socks. Shoes caused too much noise. Gone were the designer clothes, makeup, expensive shoes, wonderful smelling products just lined up along her bathroom cabinet. They were lucky to have some toothpaste that Parker had scavenged. That bar of soap was gold.

Nate handed her the rest of the clothes as he dunked his head under the water to rinse out the soap from Parker’s impromptu spa treatment of everyone’s head, except for Eliot. He still stood guard, never taking his eyes off the horizon. They needed to find a place to settle, to rest so that they could plan. Always on the run was not very conducive to figuring out what to do about this global crisis.

Climbing out of the cold water, Sophie dried off as best she could, grabbing her only other set of clothes. Two sets, Nate had commanded, was all they could carry. Stripping off the rest of her wet underwear, she shimmied into the other somewhat clean pair. Eyes were on her, but she’d given up that first week being modest. Parker had never been modest to begin with, so it wasn’t difficult changing in front of everyone else. Hardison was the only one who still flinched from time to time. 

They had to find a home base soon or they wouldn’t last much longer. Eliot couldn’t stay awake for days at a time. Nate couldn’t settle down so that he could figure out a way out of this mess. Hardison was withering away little by little, his personality slowly falling to the earth like a dead leaf. Parker was still in her element, able to stealthily keep them in food and other items that they might need to survive. 

Sophie was useless. She felt useless. She had no skills that they could use other than attempting to keep one of them from dying. She could do that.

Tapping Eliot on his shoulder, she pointed to the water, hoping that he’d take her up on it. He mouthed back at her that he was good. Sophie mimicked that he smelled really bad. He just shrugged and turned away, looking again for any threat. It took Parker insisting that he try to get clean to make him venture to the edge of the water. With both Nate and Parker watching their perimeter, Eliot quickly and quietly washed up, choosing to strip as he did. His underwear ended up on top of Hardison’s head, which earned a middle finger from the younger man.

They needed something to hold onto, some way to get through this. One month seemed like years. One year it would seem like a lifetime.

First Year

Nate watched as Sophie methodically washed the vegetables in the sink. They’d learned how to do things quietly, which meant not doing things quickly. Slowing Parker down had been a challenge. Eliot had taken to it the fastest, showing the others how to put one foot in front of the other and survive. 

They’d done it, found a place, far from anyone. Just in case, Hardison had mentioned one day. It was better to be spread out. Just in case. It was better to be able to gather food. Just in case. Hardison spent a lot of his time, well most of his time, in their fortified bunker. He could work and not worry as much about noise. It was where they could go and have quiet conversations, tinker with the hardware they’d scavenged. It was also the place where on occasion they could be intimate with one another, whether it was to have a conversation about needs or to meet those needs. That obviously meant that Hardison could not spend his entire life down in that bunker. Eliot had insisted that he come out at least once a day. The fight that he and Eliot had after they made that a rule was epic. A quiet fight with more cursing and fist thrusting in the air, all in sign language and angry faces. He got over it. In time.

Coming up behind Sophie, Nate added his hands to Sophie’s, nuzzling her neck. She probably smelled of dirt, sweat, possibly a little basil, and the soap from yesterday’s bath. It had taken over half the day to fill the tub. She hadn’t cared one bit. They all were able to get clean that day. Sophie had drawn the short straw, which meant she went first. After an hour of soaking, most of the dirt had come off. There was only so much one could do about the feet. They never came clean. 

The two of them had celebrated the only way they knew how: a half a glass of wine between the two of them, a blanket in the field under the stars. It was amazing how inventive when you had to be completely quiet. Even their breathing had to be soft. No more frantic times in bed, making Sophie squeal with delight. Her inaudible sighs were enough.

As Nate dragged his lips down her neck to her shoulder, Sophie grinned, squeezing his hand, pulling it toward her, tucking it underneath her shirt against her skin.

“Here?” Nate signed.

“They’ll be back any minute,” she mouthed back.

“Can’t chance it,” Nate signed back.

“We could kick Hardison out,” Sophie replied, silently.

“Fat chance,” he told her against her skin.

Even not looking at her, she could read what he was saying if he did it against her skin.

“Incorrigible.”

Nate smirked back. He was. He knew that. She made him happy, made everything bearable. She would have not survived if not for him.

Everything, including their relationship, moved in slow motion. Their way of communicating had come in handy. Reading of the minds, a smile here, a touch there. That didn’t mean they were perfect. If this catastrophe hadn’t happened, would they be this far along in declaring their love for one another? They’d said it, finally, that last year in Portland. Took him long enough. 

No more adventures, no more lounging on some faraway beach, no more strolling through some foreign country’s beautiful countryside. She knew it had only been a little over a year, but with things moving so slowly, it seemed like they’d been this way forever. 

Sophie leaned back into Nate’s embrace, hands traveling up to wrap around the back of his neck. His beard scratched her jaw as his lips worked their way to her shoulder, making her shiver. His warm hands gripped her hips, fingertips working underneath her shirt. He skimmed the top of her skirt, slowly stroking her skin.

Whereas before, she’d already be moaning in delight, now she had to be deadly silent as did he. Nate had never been that noisy to begin with, but she was and had to learn to express herself differently. That meant an open mouth, a silent scream that only she could hear in her mind, gripping his hands tight as they worked their magic.

As Sophie buried her mouth against his neck to make sure she didn’t call out, Nate held her upright as she shook from reaching her peak.

“Dammit, Nate,” Sophie sighed against his pounding pulse.

As she slowly opened her eyes, she saw the smirk on his face.

“Bastard,” she chided him.

“Me?” his smile now bright with mischief.

In a shadowed corner, Sophie finished the job, knees digging into the ground. So much for that bath she had taken. As she looked down at Nate, she realized how damn much she loved the fool. It felt so good to be locked together as one, sweat building up between the two of them since the day had turned warmer with no breeze to cool them off.

Climbing off of him, she settled beside him as he lay looking at the roof of their shelter. 

They seriously hadn’t made a sound. Nate gripped her hand tight, telling her without words not to move a muscle. The creature was there, on the roof. It hadn’t noticed them because it hadn’t looked down. They would have never noticed it if they hadn’t collapsed after the intensity of what they had just shared.

Was there something they hadn’t noticed while wrapped up in each other? The scream off in the distance attracted the creature, which had it bolting to the sound, sending shards of debris down onto them. Someone had made a grave error.

Parker liked to play a game. How fast could she stride down the path and get back to the house before Eliot would notice? Gone were the times that she could surprise them, coming up to tap either him or Hardison on the shoulder. They might make a sound. All the paths they made were in decent shape. It had taken them weeks to clear them from anything they might trip over or hurt themselves, including sharp rocks and sticks. Parker loved to sweep them, sometimes being a little compulsive. Hardison did not pay attention to where he was walking. Anything to make his life easier. He could be their salvation if he could find a way to help them rid humanity of the beasts that wandered the earth. 

Parker wouldn’t admit to the others that she was antsy like there was an itch to scratch and she couldn’t reach it. It had been over a year. A year of living virtually in silence, although they had found ways to speak to each other. Of course, Eliot had built them the bunker, where they could at least go and make a bit of noise. It had helped. She almost cried tears of joy that first night, as they lay in the bunker, sweat building because Eliot had not perfected the airflow. It had been damn hot that day, one of the days before the weather had turned colder.

Now it was hot again, the air humid and weighty. The air circulation was better, so they didn’t roast spending time below ground. Parker would have thought it would be cooler, but for some reason, with all the extra padding, it hadn’t been at first. 

They all slept down there, just in case in sleep one of them made a noise. Those first few weeks, when they didn’t have this kind of protection, one of them had to stay awake, just to poke and warn the others to not make any noise. Nightmares, snoring, talking in one’s sleep. Anything could be deadly. There was only one Eliot to go around and those damn creatures were too difficult to take down, even for him.

The farm they found abandoned served its purpose. They could grow some food, build themselves an area in which to live, and not bother anyone else that was still alive. They still had a rudimentary system to communicate with others. It’s just that Nate and Eliot wanted to be very careful about communicating with anyone. One slip up and they all could die.

Parker ended her stroll up to the ridge at the back of the property. The hill had a good vantage point, where she could keep an eye on everything. Someone had realized this fact a long time ago, eliminating the vegetation and trees, to give a good line of sight of the whole valley. Parker breathed in the freshness of the air, watching as bugs danced in the air. The sun was hot, but that didn’t matter to her. They were alive, surviving. Perhaps, just perhaps one day they could make a home. Not that they had to stay here. She wouldn’t mind it. The fact that there was virtually no privacy, they were always short on food, and no one could talk or make noise didn’t make it pleasant. Eliot had killed a deer a week before, so they’d be set for quite some time for meat. Now if she could keep whatever critter was eating the lettuce that she was trying to grow, then maybe there would be progress. 

Lying back, Parker watched as the clouds drifted in the sky. She tried to find faces in the clouds, just as she did when she was young. Closing her eyes, she slowed her breathing, relaxing her muscles. They hadn’t seen a creature in months. Maybe they had moved on, she had told Eliot a few days before. No way they’d ever let their guard down though. Eliot would make sure of that.

It made Eliot twitchy, not knowing what was happening in the world. He had ventured one night that he might split off from the group, travel around gathering information. Nate had vehemently been against Eliot doing this, relying on Hardison’s basic communication with a few groups through his signals on his cobbled together electronics. The fact that the other groups had not seen a creature in months didn’t make Parker feel any better. Maybe it had been luck. Skill, at least on their part. Thieves knew how to be quiet. It was a life skill. Survival.

Poking in her pocket, Parker rolled around the small device that she had snatched from Hardison that morning. He had thrown it up against the wall because it hadn’t done what he wanted it to do. Fiddling with it with one of those tiny little screwdrivers, Parker put it back in her pocket, hoping to show Hardison that it had made a tinny noise when she turned the screw just so. Maybe he would be impressed that she cared about what he was doing.

As gently as she could, Parker rolled over to get up from the warm ground. Only a month or so to go. Hardison had told her that they needed to do something, anything to fix this, to protect what was theirs. She had understood that if they couldn’t find a solution, then there could be major consequences.

Walking back to the farm, Parker noticed something shiny right off the path. If she was very, very careful, she might be able to pull whatever it was out of the ground. Sophie’s birthday was coming up so it might make a good present. She’d found many shiny rocks and smooth glass here and there. Her collection was growing, sitting in the old shack just on the other side of the barn. She’d go there to be alone with her thoughts when she needed to think. The others steered clear, knowing that she valued her privacy. 

They all needed their time alone. Hardison and his tinkering down in the bunker. Eliot and his garden, pulling each weed. Sophie and her yoga or her reading a book in a quiet corner. Nate was the only one that didn’t demand quiet time, although he did venture out to go fishing, often coming back with their dinner. 

As she reached over, Parker noticed rotten wood right beside the trinket. It was a bottle, a very old broken bottle, edges worn. The green reflected off the sun, blinding her for just a moment. Moving forward, she almost had her prize. The ground underneath her shifted, dirt soft and yielding. It wasn’t like the hard-packed earth of the pathways. 

It was only mere seconds before the ground gave way, tumbling her down. She hadn’t meant to scream.

Eliot had to work with his hands. Working with hands was quieter. Using any kind of hoe or shovel would make too much noise. He’d worked the ground as silently as he could, to make the seeds grow. The first season, with not as many seeds to plant, wasn’t as successful as he had wanted. They had just enough to get through the cold spell. Just enough. Supplementing their diet with fish and whatever meat he could kill made it a bit easier. This season’s harvest though would be bountiful. The seeds he had found had worked. 

Weeding had become his job, his lifeforce. It made him feel useful. Parker didn’t have the patience and Hardison couldn’t tell a weed from something edible, no matter how much he instructed the man. Sophie sometimes joined him. He liked being alone, working the earth, breathing in the dampness after a rain.

When they first found the abandoned farm, Eliot thought that Nate was crazy. There was nowhere for them to reside. The house was too decrepit, which meant every step inside could spell their doom. The barn wasn’t bad, but the roof leaked, and he couldn’t actually fix it without making a sound. Discovering a cellar had made their lives so much easier. It had taken Eliot a few weeks to make a home out of it, to be able to dampen the noise to the outside. They scavenged things from the old house, which still was furnished. It had taken him a day just to get a mattress down the stairs with Nate’s help. 

Hardison spent way too much time buried in his work, attempting to figure out how to get out of this mess. Nate often joined Hardison but left him alone to stew when an idea was shot down. He was working on a few theories, but how would they be tested? It wasn’t like they had one of those creatures readily available. 

Eliot hadn’t met an adversary he couldn’t fight until the aliens came. He couldn’t fight these creatures. They were too fast, too big, didn’t have many weaknesses that he could tell. He’d killed two of them, but that had been pure luck. Rubbing his face where the scar puckered, he knew he’d been very lucky the last time. The thing had tried to take a huge chunk out of him in addition to bashing his brains in. He couldn’t get close enough to use his knife until Parker had shot the thing at close range. That gave him the few seconds to sink the knife inside, killing the thing instantly. Luck. Absolutely pure luck.

Eliot sat down at the end of the row, drinking down the water that he’d brought with him. A small tool at his side, he absently pulled up another weed with his fingers. They’d been lucky again finding this place. It was remote enough, had a way to grow food, and was not occupied.

The people who had survived were sometimes vicious, barely surviving what had happened. Eliot had to devise several escapes while they were on the run just to be sure his crew lived. That told him it would not be to their advantage making their team larger. Nate had suggested it at one point, nixing the idea when someone had stolen the rest of their provisions one night while they slept. Hardison had nodded off for just a few minutes. It took them weeks to regather enough to not starve. That would not happen again.

They all had their jobs, things that they could do to keep things running. Parker was obsessed with the pathways, to make sure they could walk around without a sound. Sophie made sure that everything was clean and tidy, sometimes even cooking. He knew she had it in her, even if before she burned water. Nate and Hardison put plan after plan together, to have them all fall apart. Eliot had built and was now maintaining the bunker, which was a lifesaver. 

He and Nate ventured out a few months before, finding more seeds to plant, hunting and fishing as much as they could. The damn man could track, which surprised Eliot the most. And he found the best places to fish. Hardison had turned his nose up at the fish at first but realized he needed to get over it really fast if he wanted to eat. Eliot had devised a plan to be able to cook with heat.

All was running smoothly, except for the fact that they were going stir crazy. They were used to doing their own thing, even during the jobs that Nate had found back in the day. He ordered them around, they did their jobs, and people were saved. Now they had no jobs other than to stay alive. It was monotonous. 

They had one bigger project to complete in the next few months. How would that go over? Would they survive the change? Nate was angry at first, knowing that this could spell too much danger. It wasn’t like they’d planned this. Hell, he should talk. He’d been damn lucky so far. 

Eliot lay back, watching the clouds float by. It wasn’t going to rain today, he thought. Possibly tomorrow. If it did, he could make sure that Parker actually bathed. It had been a few days. As Eliot closed his eyes, he remembered how soft Parker’s skin felt, how wonderful it was to run his fingers through her long hair. She sighed as she tilted her head back, exposing her neck.

He needed to be present, not take anything for granted, make sure they all lived. Only there she was, offering to get the knots out of his hair. Her long, slender fingers worked through each knot, tugging a little bit. It had taken her hours with the comb that she had, but he sat still for it. 

One thing led to another. The next thing he knew, she was straddling him, hands clutching his chest, mouth open in silent ecstasy. Hardison was going to kill him in his sleep. Then it happened again and again until one day Hardison caught them. There had been lots of silent arguments with finger-pointing and Parker poking both of them before they settled on something that all three of them could handle. 

Nate and Sophie had stayed out of it, completely. He might have gotten a “told you so” out of Nate at one point. A smile of knowing from Sophie sealed it. How did the two of them know? It wasn’t like Eliot had made it known that there were feelings. Until there were feelings with not just Parker. And that was very new. He and Hardison had an understanding. It wasn’t love. It couldn’t be love. Could it?

When he had told Nate, he’d protect them until his dying day, he was serious. He hadn’t meant it to be a declaration. That’s what it had become. It had taken longer to put it all together in his mind. They were his. No one would take them from him. 

Parker had wanted for him to tell Hardison about his feelings, but he was hesitant. It was working for them. She’d bounce from one to the other, get what she needed. She was the center. Eliot didn’t mind sharing until Parker had asked why he and Hardison couldn’t share her together. Then feelings entered the equation. Hence the argument, with Hardison burying himself in work, not coming out from underground unless Sophie dragged him out.

Parker was right. She was always right. Now they just had to deal with the consequences. Would this work? How would this work? It had been working up until then, the sharing. It wasn’t like he could talk it out. He didn’t have enough sign language knowledge. And pulling Hardison off the property would make the man anxious. He had taken to leaving Hardison little presents, making his favorite food, whatever to get his attention. Only yesterday had Hardison finally caved to the extra attention. Parker had literally applauded (silently of course).

It was something new, but not new. The opportunity was there, almost too many times to count. Now here they were, involved in something that most people would not understand. Whatever makes you happy, Sophie had announced. Nate had been quiet about it all but had not disapproved.

He and Sophie were far too involved, wrapped around each other constantly. Just a nod from Nate that morning told Eliot that he had done the right thing, a good thing. There had been a few times, when things were bad, that he thought maybe he should fight Nate for Sophie. Hurting him had seemed a much better prospect than butting into Hardison and Parker’s relationship. Sophie would understand Eliot like no other. Hurting Nate like that, he just couldn’t do it. Burying his feelings for the two older members of the team had been the only course of action. 

Dammit, why did it have to be this hard? He had worked too damn hard for Parker and Hardison. And he would stick to it because he loved them down to his toes and back. So why in the back of his mind did he regret not going forward with either Nate or Sophie or the both of them? Damn team. Parker was right when she said she loved them all. He doubted that Parker loved Nate and Sophie in that way, but who knew with that woman. She was a mystery sometimes. That’s what made her so damn fascinating. 

It took him this long to tell Hardison what he felt. No going back.

Picking up his hat, Eliot hauled himself up off the dirt, picking up the weeds to deposit them far from the fields. He didn’t want them to repopulate themselves and ruin their crops. All that was thrown to the wind when he heard the scream. It was a distinctive scream. All his instincts kicked in as he ran toward the noise. Only he wasn’t going to get there in time from what he saw ahead of him. There was only one thing to do.

He couldn’t hum. He shouldn’t make noise. No more clicking of the keyboard. No more hunting orcs on his days off. No more talking to his online buddies. No more hunting the dark web for info on another mark to take down. 

And he was damn confused about Eliot’s declaration the previous day. What the hell was he going to do now?

Hardison looked at his schematics of the small device he’d built, wondering if it would work. How do these things tick? What would kill them or deter them from killing humans? They acted on instinct, killing things that made noise. Was it because of the vibrations that humans gave off? He’d seen them kill other species.

As Hardison placed the headphones back on his head, he pondered all those questions that had been running around in his head once again. How to kill the creatures, how to make sure that Parker was safe, how to tell Eliot his feelings. Not all in that order. Those feelings for Eliot had been there for a long time, festering until Eliot finally succumbed. Hardison was damn afraid to open the circle and invite Eliot in, even though those feelings had been there. Why change the status quo?

Maybe because it wasn’t fair to either Parker or Eliot? Hardison didn’t know why Eliot hadn’t gravitated toward the other two. It wouldn’t have been any of his business if Eliot had chosen Nate or Sophie or both. None of his damn business. It would have shattered his feelings, but still none of his business. Only the presents had started and well, there you go. And it made Parker happy, very happy.

Hardison had thought that Eliot had chosen Parker, particularly seeing them by walking in on them with no clothes. Eliot had apologized profusely, which in turn made Parker mad at both of them. She didn’t think there was anything to apologize about. In the long run, she was right. They were adults. Who they slept with, loved was up to them and them only? Parker had chosen Eliot, until she didn’t. And that confused the hell out of him.

Sharing the same woman? Needs must and all that. Hardison had wanted to make it work, brush the jealousy aside. It was work. He never knew how much work it was until it happened. He wanted to make his girl happy and she was. Eliot made her happy too.

Rubbing his hands over his face, Hardison looked at the paper before him again. Maybe he was missing something. He was working with several other people, none of whom he had met, trying to defeat the beasts that roamed the earth. His love life needed to wait.

Eliot thought he was the only one to protect them. He could only do so much with the creatures though and he knew it. Hardison had hoped that it wouldn’t come down to him, that Nate would figure out a plan or that Eliot would find some physical weakness they could exploit. 

Nothing. It had been sheer luck that Eliot had taken down two of them. Nate helped him with the first one and Parker the second. It wasn’t without mistakes and injuries and people dying. So much damn blood. Hardison had nightmares for months, waking up in a pool of sweat and a hand at his brow so that he wouldn’t cry out. Eliot was even there in his dreams, protecting him.

That was why when the epiphany hit Hardison, it hit hard. His feelings for Parker had not changed, they had just gotten stronger. She’d always be his girl. Could he find it in his heart for Eliot too? And why should he? The man was his best friend as was Parker. This wasn’t a friend's thing. Never was. Hardison just needed to admit it to himself.

The code coming over the rudimentary set up startled him just slightly. Hardison’s eyes widened as he wrote down the message.

Was this going to work? If they hadn’t been closer. If they hadn’t been working on a case together. If the others hadn’t asked for help. If they hadn’t been in the country. If they hadn’t figured out what the triggers were. Too many ifs, ands or buts. Too much carnage. And no alcohol.

Nate always thought he could think better slightly inebriated. In theory, he was right. His mind worked too fast, always had. Even when he was young, he needed something to slow it down. Today he’d probably be diagnosed with ADHD or something similar. He needed puzzles, work, anything to keep his mind occupied when he was younger. Now all he needed was Sophie and the others. So maybe it wasn’t the lack of stimulation when he was younger. It was the lack of companionship.

He was content. Not necessarily happy with their situation because going hungry for a time, being chased by alien creatures who could rip you to shreds just by making noise wasn’t the best scenario. They could be dead. They made their living for a time conning people out of things, whether it be money or whatever their clients needed back. That took time, effort, and talking. Sophie’s body language could con even the quietest person out of their fortune. Parker operated best on being the quietest person in the room. Eliot often was a ghost in person, striking at the best possible time. Hardison was a ghost on the computer, breaking into places and taking things sight unseen. 

And Nate was the loud, obnoxious man with the plan. Now he had no plans, no people to help other than the four beings that depended on him and vice versa. That terrified him. Before, the four of them could fade into the woodwork, go back to being what they were before and survive. They couldn’t do that now, if ever.

They all had learned new skills in the past year. Even he did. He hadn’t fished in years, relearning what one of his cousins had taught him so long ago. None of the others had the patience to sit there, waiting for a bite on the line. It was an opportunity for Nate to clear his mind. A study in patience.

As he stood on the bank of the river, waiting for the line to jerk with his catch, he thought about all that had transpired in the last year. They all were in each other’s pockets now. Arguments had occurred, silently for the most part. Nate had observed the play between the other three, watched them dance around each other, finally settling into some sort of routine. Just as he and Sophie had done. Was it what each of them wanted? He and Sophie had an established relationship, going so far as to get married. Parker and Hardison hadn’t made it that far but were certainly committed to each other. Or so Nate thought.

The argument between Hardison and Eliot had been epic. He’d never seen the two of them so angry with one another, even after the incident with the pool and Moreau. And it was all over a girl. Nope, a woman because Parker was definitely all woman. She didn’t take shit off any of them, including himself. Just as Sophie didn’t. They all learned over the years that the women of the group were just as competent or even more so. Equal partners. Nate wouldn’t have it any other way.

Only the two other men were fighting over Parker’s affections. Words (sign language and pointing) were said, feelings were hurt. All three went to their neutral corners until a compromise had been decided. Both he and Sophie had stayed out of it. They had their issues and realities in which to deal. Sophie had been a little put out that Eliot hadn’t come to them first, but both he and she knew where his feelings were headed long before any of this had happened. Nate just wondered what took so long.

Going from friends to lovers could damage a relationship faster than anything could. That was one reason why early on Nate felt he was walking on eggshells with Sophie. He did want them to remain friends first. He valued her input, her mind, the way she worked. If they had a relationship that failed, that could have all but ruined the team back when it was fresh and young. 

Eliot was always the third wheel no matter how one looked at it. He’d had occasional girlfriends, but nothing stuck. Nate doubted that Eliot wanted to be the third wheel in either one of the relationships that had developed in the team. He was never so glad when Eliot had declared his intentions when he and Sophie had told the team that they were getting married and leaving. Except Eliot didn’t take that last step. They were still a team in every sense of the word except for what meant the most. Now it started to become a reality.

Reeling back the line, Nate smiled at the fish on the other end. If they had greens, which Parker had worked insistently on growing, maybe they’d have a full meal for dinner. Eliot was still “curing” or whatever he was doing with that damn deer he had killed a few weeks before. They’d had venison for dinner for at least a week until Eliot had told him that he needed to use salt and whatever else, so they’d have meat for the winter. Hardison had grimaced at Eliot’s announcement.

“Jerky,” Eliot growled out, voice low in the bunker.

Nate had hoped that morning that there wasn’t another fight but by the way that Hardison smiled back, something had definitely changed from the night before. Parker rubbed her belly as she took Hardison’s hand in hers, poking Eliot with her foot.

Things were about to change for the group. Nate had no idea how they were going to manage this. He’d been a father before. Babies were noisy no matter what. They had nothing other than the things that Sophie and Eliot had scavenged from the house. No clothes, no diapers, no bed but the one that Eliot was slowly building with his bare hands. 

Hardison was working frantically attempting to figure out a solution. If he hadn’t found anything in a year, what made him think he could do it now. Invention after invention, idea after idea, to end up in the junk pile. Nate had tried also, knowing that his ideas wouldn’t even hold water compared to Hardison’s. If they didn’t find something, anything in the next month, he didn’t know what they would do. They’d do the best they could. No way would he let a child die again, even if it meant sacrificing himself for it. 

One more month. Nate looked at Sophie, hoping, pleading that she wouldn’t get pregnant either. They’d taken every precaution at first but had finally given up. If it happened, it happened. 

As Nate made his way back through the forest, he watched for animals, anything that might be frightened of his approach. Best to always be on the lookout for any kind of noisemaker. No sense in letting down his guard, even though they hadn’t seen a creature in months. 

Nate watched Parker as he emerged from the forest. She was heading to her spot on the highest peak nearest the farm. Eliot would be tending to their crops, babying them until it was time for harvest. Hardison would be tinkering in the bunker. He’d have to get Sophie later to pull the younger man out into the sunshine. 

Nate entered their home, which had been a smaller barn at one point. Its roof wasn’t in the best shape, but anything that needed to be protected from the rain was under the ground. Sophie was cleaning the dishes, hands moving silently through the water. He watched as she then started to clean the vegetables for their dinner. 

They were alone for once. As quietly as he could, he approached her, putting his arms around her.

He hadn’t seen anything on his journey back to the farm. Had he been distracted by Parker in the distance? Or thinking about Sophie? Or what to do about the three? Or what to do about the impending birth? How could such a large creature move that silently, just like they did? Both he and Sophie had been so lucky they hadn’t made a sound.

The scream off in the distance startled both Nate and Sophie. Instinctively covering Sophie, Nate turned and gathered Sophie up as the debris rained down on them. A large hole developed where the alien had dug its claws in and launched itself to the sound.

“Parker,” Nate could hear Sophie’s sigh. “No.”

Nate shook off the debris and pulled Sophie up off the floor. As fast as he could, he loaded the only weapon they had, an old shotgun that had saved them before. He only had three shells left.

Not enough, Nate thought to himself. Not enough. Running out of the barn, he noticed Eliot off in the distance, running at top speed. He wouldn’t make it in time. Raising the gun, he fired.

Parker had landed hard on the ground, stealing the breath from her after the initial scream. What a boneheaded mistake, Parker thought. Would that attract one of the creatures? Maybe it wouldn’t. Maybe she had been far enough underground where it wouldn’t. 

The pain in his stomach started soon after she hit.

“Not good,” she whispered to herself.

The device that Hardison had been building and discarded dug into her hip now, so she shifted it. As she did, another contraction hit, making her moan a little out loud. None of that, she chided herself. It was bad enough she called out because of the surprise of the fall. 

Mere minutes later, she heard a shotgun go off. No, no, no, she thought. She had nothing to defend herself. Nothing. The sound of the gunshot was far off in the distance. Was the creature heading for her or the person shooting the gun? She had no way of knowing exactly what was going on because there was no way in hell she was crawling out of the hole she had accidently found.

Another intense contraction hit, making her dig her fingers into the ground. Too fast, too soon. Something was wrong. Probably from the fall. She had another month to go or so Eliot thought. He was their medic too in addition to everything else he did. At first, he was angry about the pregnancy. They had been careful, but obviously not careful enough. Was it his or Hardison’s? They’d know soon enough. Maybe they’d know. It really didn’t matter if the baby didn’t survive. If she didn’t survive. How were they going to protect a noisy baby? Eliot and Nate had some ideas, but it wasn’t like they could test their theories. That’s why Hardison had been working nonstop attempting to figure out how to make the creatures go away.

Parker pushed the button on the device again to distract herself from the pain. It wasn’t working. She’d ruined everything. A tear fell as another contraction hit. Giving birth in a hole in the ground wasn’t what was supposed to happen.

Eliot had already unsheathed his knife when he heard the gunshot. Dammit, Nate. He was almost there. What did he think he was doing? Eliot knew exactly what the man was doing because Eliot was not going to make it in time. The creature had found the hole and was starting to look down when the gun noise blasted through the air. It turned immediately at the sound and took off faster than Eliot could run. Shit.

Except the creature stopped in its tracks, turning its head around at the hole again. It screeched so loud that Eliot had to cover his ears. Then it took off again toward the sound.

The creature stumbled a time or two, definitely not acting like they normally acted. He could see Nate off in the distance, shotgun at the ready. Two rounds. That’s all they had left. When he caught up with Nate, he was gonna let him have it. If Nate lived, that was.

The creature stopped again, grabbing what Eliot thought was its head. Another one of those damn screeches even had Nate pulling up and running away, probably to lead it from the rest of them. One shotgun blast hit the thing right in the chest, slowing it just a bit. Even at the pace that Eliot was setting, there was no way he was going to reach Nate in time.

Sophie knew the rules. Get to the shelter. No matter what. She wanted to make sure that Hardison didn’t come barreling out, encountering one of the creatures before he knew what was going on. Just before she opened the door to the hideout, she heard a gun blast. 

Wrenching the door open, she ran into Hardison, who was running up the stairs.

“No,” she whispered to him. “Back down.”

“I know what to do,” he mouthed back.

“You can’t. I can’t lose you too. Nate took the gun.” She couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. “Parker. She’s in trouble.”

“Down. Now,” he ordered.

Both their eyes widened at the screeching sound outside.

“I have to go save Parker.”

“Eliot’s out there. Just let him.”

Hardison took her face in his hands. “I can’t. She can’t die.”

Tears were now streaking his face too.

“Nate,” Sophie silently called out.

She knew what Nate was attempting to do. He was going to sacrifice himself for Parker and potentially Eliot. They both were out there somewhere. Looking directly in her eyes, Hardison smiled back at her, trying to look cocky and assured that he could do this. 

He kissed her on the forehead as he opened the door back up. As gently as he could, Hardison shoved her down the hole, closing the door behind him. 

She was going to lose all of them. And there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.

Hardison had to get to Parker. That was all that mattered. Her scream mixed with the screeches that the creature had started to make now made perfect sense. If he could reach her in time, then he could possibly save both Nate and Eliot. Crouching down, he ran to the other side of the path, around the vegetable patch. He didn’t even look back to see where the creature was.

He knew that Nate had taken off after that first hit. Eliot was out there somewhere, but Hardison would never know since the man moved like a ghost. 

Where was she? She had to be near the hill where she liked to meditate. What had made her scream? Was it the creature? She’d never scream encountering the things. Maybe she was injured.

Hardison almost screamed himself when he saw one arm, then two emerge from a hole in the ground. Both were covered in dark dirt. Her hair was filthy, clothes covered. But she didn’t make a sound. She doubled over when she finally was able to pull herself out. 

That’s when he saw it. Blood streaked her legs. Oh god no. Before he could reach her, she stood on her feet, raising her arm over her head. Instead of collapsing, she surged forward. Before he could get to her, she took off down the other path, right to Eliot and Nate. Skidding to a stop, he looped back to intercept her. She was going to get herself killed. What the hell was she thinking?

She had to get out of that damn hole. Whatever the device was, it seemed to be doing something. Hardison had been working on something dealing with sound waves. Was it some kind of dog whistle? Parker knew she had perfect hearing because she’d been tested once just for fun. There was something there, she just couldn’t pinpoint it. As she pressed the button again, she heard the screech.

It was going to be hell to get out of the hole. Another contraction hit, doubling her over. Nope, not gonna happen, she thought. This was not going to happen right now. Pulling on roots that were dangling down into the hole, she finally found some footing so that she could get out. Dirt rained down as she did this. At one point, she thought that she felt something pop, but nothing was going to stop her. 

She needed to get out before another contraction hit. As she finally made it to the top, the pain hit again, doubling her over. Now she saw what that pop was all about. Bloody tinged fluid coated her shins and ankles. Shit, that couldn’t be good.

Raising the device in the air, she hoped that it had some range because from what she could tell, the creature was much further away, probably trying to find whoever had fired that gunshot. Dammit, Nate. It had to be him.

Staggering up to her feet, she stumbled down the path, device waving as she went. Was this their saving grace? Was it actually working? She hoped so because she was running into the fire without anything to protect herself.

Nate dove underneath the old truck, hoping that the creature wouldn’t know where he’d gone to hide. Then he could surprise it. Ha, who was he kidding? The things were too smart. It would eventually figure out where he was. Only one shot left.

He wondered what it felt like to be ripped to pieces. He’d seen it happen too many times those first couple of weeks when they ran for their lives. If he gave the other four enough time, they could save themselves and it would all be worth it. They were worth it. Eliot better listen to his own rules. Hide. Don’t make any noise. They can’t see you. They can only hear you. Get to the bunker.

Nate tried to slow his breathing down as much as he could. Turning his head, he could see the creature’s claws mark the ground, standing mere feet from where he now hid. He didn’t want it to turn back to where Parker had fallen. Hopefully, by now Eliot had found her and escorted her to safety. This all had to be worth it. Please let this be worth the sacrifice.

Both he and Eliot had agreed early on that they’d sacrifice themselves for the other three. They hadn’t let the others in on their declaration. It had always been that way, even early on in their team’s history. Eliot took the hits for them. Nate had the plan. The captain goes down with the ship, Nate thought. That’s the way it had to be.

The creature then jumped up onto the truck, pushing it further into the ground. Rolling, Nate made it to the other side, hoping that the thing would get bored and walk off.

Would he have enough time to fire off the last shot? Those things had really long appendages, so it could swipe out at him, knocking the gun from his arms. It was cocked and ready to fire.

As silently as he could, Nate scooted out from underneath the vehicle. It was either do that or be crushed. Only the creature screeched again, throwing its head in the air. It was in pain. Or what looked like pain.

It was now or never. Standing up as fast as he could, Nate jammed the gun right into what he thought was its throat and fired.

Eliot felt like he was moving in slow motion. One moment he was heading directly to where he thought Parker might be. The next moment, he turned at the sound of the gunshot. Nate had done his job to get the creature to head away from Parker, saving her life. For the moment. If Eliot didn’t intercept it, it would head back the way it came. That wasn’t going to happen if Eliot had any say so.

Up ahead, Eliot could see the creature approach the old truck that sat in the field. They often wondered if the thing still ran. It wasn’t like they could actually take it out for a spin. Nice to fantasize about driving. Eliot loved taking drives, especially on his motorcycle. Just to go out and not have an agenda, feel the breeze on his face.

Eliot bet that Nate was hiding somewhere nearby, probably under said truck. As the creature climbed on top of it, he watched as it bent from its weight. Shit, if Nate was hiding underneath, he might want to get out now before being crushed.

Just don’t turn around, Eliot chanted in his mind. If he could get there, he might be able to surprise it with the big knife he was carrying. Who was he kidding? There was no way he was going to get there in time before the creature sliced Nate in half. It was a good run, old man. He’d finish the creature off though, one way or another.

The truck bowed even more as the creature reared its head back, almost like it was in pain. A damn ear-splitting screech filled the air. Eliot didn’t have time to react as he watched Nate appear on the other side of the truck. What the hell was he doing? The shotgun was in Nate’s hands. Would this work? No way Eliot was going to get there in time. Nate took his shot, his last shot. Eliot ran at full speed, knife at the ready.

Parker could see the thing writhing like it was in pain. Her ears were hurting a bit too. She bet that the others couldn’t hear the high pitch that was emitted. Another pain hit, bringing her to her knees. Did she give them enough time to kill it? Nate appeared on the other side of the truck, aiming his weapon directly at the thing’s throat.

Sophie could hear the gunshot, the screeching. She needed to go up and see what was happening. What if they needed her help? The first rule that was made was to hide. Hide as you’ve never hidden before. Be quiet. Don’t move. They sensed movement because when you moved, you made noise. Slow your breathing as much as you could. Survive. 

She couldn’t do this. She had to go and help. As she decided to climb the stairs, she could see the shadow. One of the creatures was directly above her. She could hear the click, click of its appendages against the wood floor.

This was not the one that Nate had fired on, was it? As silently as she could, she went back down the stairs and crawled underneath them. Another screech, this time seemed like it was in stereo, hurt her ears. The thing was closer than she thought it was. Now she could see the light spilling down the stairs by opening her eyes. She had closed them, praying that the creature would just go away.

Putting her hand over her mouth, she slowed her breathing as much as she could. She sat in the tightest ball that she could, not making a sound. Crashing through the door, it awkwardly made its way down the stairs.

Someone else was going to run into this thing. No way they couldn’t. What could she do? She had no weapons, no way of defending herself. She couldn’t call out to the others. It again became disoriented from something outside. Why was it doing what it was doing? Another screech emitted from the thing. Smashing its way through some of Hardison’s things, she watched as it slowly moved, like it knew she was there but couldn’t find her. It was mere inches from her. Swallowing, she held her breath for as long as she could, hoping that it would give up and go back up the steps. Only it didn’t. It knew she was down there.

Another shotgun blast sounded off in the distance. Either Nate was dead from the creature attacking him, or he was successful and destroyed it. Whatever the outcome, they were out of shells. Eliot had begun preparing to go search for more shells but hadn’t because of Parker’s impending childbirth. Too late now.

Two screeches. Parker heard two screeches. Shit, shit, shit. One behind her. That was where the barn was. Were there two? Oh no, there were. No more shells. One last shot rang out mere seconds before. Parker kept pressing the button. Another screech. Oh god no. Sophie and Hardison. Where were they?

Staggering to the barn, she saw that the door was wide open to the space below. Hardison stood at the top, getting ready to swing the ax in his hands.

“No,” echoed through the air. Hardison had screamed to attract the creature.

Nate lay prone on the ground, looking up at the sky. Right next to him, the creature lay, whatever it had for blood oozing into the soil. He couldn’t move. In a last attempt to stop him, it had stabbed him with one of its claws. It now pinned him to the ground. It must have passed through the muscle to come out the other side. There was no way he was getting up from this without help. He’d be lucky to survive. They had no medical supplies except for a few Band-Aids and some ointment. Eliot had taken to starting experiments with medicinal herbs. None of that would treat a piercing wound from an alien extraterrestrial. 

Slowing his breathing, he figured that he’d last a few more hours at most. But they were safe. They all were safe. It had all been worth it.

The next screech he heard brought him out of his musings. Fuck, he thought. There were more. And he had no more shells. Down one arm, loss of blood, pinned to the ground. He had to try. There had to be a way for him to help. With his free arm, he yanked on the claw as hard as he could. It didn’t move.

One last try had him straining to keep his grip on the sharp instrument. At least it was a clean stab, no jagged edges. The bright sun was cut off as something blocked it. Nate’s eyesight was getting blurry from the pain. That’s when he realized that it was Eliot standing over him, assessing the damage.

“Parker,” he whispered.

It took Eliot a mere two seconds to cut the claw from the alien’s body and pulled Nate forward and up off the ground. He swayed as he watched Eliot retreat to the sounds being made off in the distance.

Stumbling down the path, he followed Eliot as fast as he could.

Eliot knew he wasn’t going to make it in time to Nate. Even if Nate did blow the thing’s head off, he could see the claws getting close in the mere second it took for Nate to fire. He watched in slow motion as the thing speared Nate to the ground at the same time as the shot was taken. He didn’t know why Nate didn’t cry out. Any other person would have screamed in pain. Their claws were razor-sharp, slicing through muscle and bone without hesitation. 

Nate was still alive though because he could see the man attempting to pull the claw out of his shoulder. He must be pinned. They’d done it. They’d killed the son of a bitch. Nate might die, but they had succeeded. Another screech had Eliot stopping right before Nate. No fucking way. This wasn’t happening. They didn’t have any more shells. Shit.

As fast as he could, he cut the claw off the body of the creature and pulled it from the ground so that Nate could move. Removing it would cause more issues that he had no way in which to deal. That was the least of his worries. He took off toward the other one, hoping that it hadn’t made it inside the barn.

This was it, Hardison decided. Time to see if these things could be sliced and diced. He knew it was futile, but he had to try. The ax was the only thing close enough to possibly do any damage. The creature had to know that Sophie was down in the bunker. It was going after her.

Another screech had Hardison tensing up his muscles. It was now or never. As he approached the open door, he saw the thing on the stairs, looking down through the slats. It had zeroed in on something. That something was probably Sophie. Hide and make yourself small. No noise. No movement. It was an almost impossible task, especially when you were frightened. If he didn’t do something, the thing was going to slice Sophie up.

Ax at the ready, he knew the only thing to do was call out for it. His voice was raspy with disuse.

“No,” he finally was able to get out, attracting its attention from its other prey.

It turned to the noise he had made. It was now or never. Its head moved from side to side, screech emanating again. It was loud and hurt his ears. Again and again, it looked as if it was searching for the source of something that was causing it pain. It was time to strike. Only a few more feet and it would be in range. Hardison swung the ax with all his might. A crunch sounded like he’d made a dent in its armor. Only it wasn’t from his attempt. It had come from below.

Sophie could see the creature start to make its way up the stairs. One of the others must be up there. As they had found before, it took a lot of strength and force to kill one. Eliot had theorized that there was only one vulnerable spot, if hit correctly, that could kill the creature instantly. A soft spot he had called it. It was only the second time killing one of the things that Eliot had found that out, by mistake actually. He had taken a few moments to examine the dead creature. Getting one of the creatures in a position to expose its only weakness meant that the person doing it would probably die. Getting that close would mean certain death.

The only thing that Sophie had at her disposal was an old stick from a broom handle. She didn’t know whether she had enough muscle to even complete the job, much less hit the right spot. She had to try. At least she might distract it until Eliot could finish it off. She could see it raise its head like it heard a noise and was going to go off to find out the source.

Just as she thrust the piece of wood up with all her might, she heard Hardison above her yelling no. She met no resistance as the wood seemed to hit the right spot. As hard as she could, she put all the force of her arms and body and thrust again.

Parker kept pressing the button, hoping that whatever this device was doing, it wouldn’t stop hurting the creature. Clutching her stomach, she fell to her knees as she watched Hardison swing his ax. It didn’t make much of a dent in the creature’s armor. She knew it wouldn’t. The creatures were built with some kind of exoskeleton that was next to impossible to penetrate with any kind of weapon. Hardison didn’t have the leverage to hurt it much. Only the thing moved like it was injured.

Lashing out, it extended its claws at the source of the sound. Hardison was too close to it. Don’t get too close, Eliot had drilled into their heads. Anywhere in the radius of its claws could spell doom. There was nothing Parker could do as the thing extended its claws and slashed, spearing Hardison in the chest as it did.

There couldn’t be two Eliots. He couldn’t protect them all at once, although he tried many times to be in two places at once. There were two creatures. Two. One that Nate had killed, possibly killing him in the process. Another one made its way into the barn, where Hardison and Sophie were holed up. If they stayed where they were supposed to go, would the creature figure out how to get down into the bunker? The things were smart, could sense the least little sound someone could make. 

The thing screeched again. It had to be in pain from something. Whatever it was, he’d take it. At least there was only one screech now. He hoped that there were no more of them. As he bounded into the barn, he saw Parker kneeling on the ground, watched as Hardison swung out at the thing’s head. It wouldn’t matter. No way was that ax going to do much damage. Hardison was trying.

Eliot had heard Hardison shout no mere moments before he had made it to the door of the barn. He was attempting to attract its attention from something else. Probably Sophie. Dammit, Hardison. He was almost there. Eliot had almost made it.

The claw retracted, made its way in mere seconds, spearing Hardison as it reared its head back. A stick protruded into that soft spot that Eliot had found the last time he fought one of the creatures. It was there, hard to find and deadly if you found it. It reared its head back in pain, giving Eliot time to slice upward with his knife to finish the job. If Eliot hadn’t done that, it still was probably dead.

He watched as Hardison plopped down in the seated position onto the ground, claw and appendage sticking out of him. There was nothing he could do. Even with modern medicine, this was probably something that was not survivable. 

Eliot’s knife came up and sliced off the alien’s appendage, separating it from its body. He could see that Hardison’s eyes were still open, tears streaming out. Parker managed to crawl over to him, taking him in her arms. He was still alive, barely. Getting on the other side of him, Eliot cradled his best friend gently as Parker took the other side.

He saw Nate enter, staggering with that claw still sticking out of his shoulder. Sophie made it out of the hole, blood drenching her head from her stabbing of the creature where it hurt the most. Nate slowly fell to his knees as Sophie crawled over to the other three.

Sophie cradled the small being in her arms, swaying so that its mother could sleep. It had been two weeks since it all had happened. It had taken another few hours after for this little being to be born, tears being shed. Parker had been a trouper, not making a sound as she bore down and birthed a beautiful baby girl. It had curly tufts on its head. She couldn’t be Eliot’s since her skin was a deeper brown. It was fitting that this girl was probably Hardison’s. He had died saving all of them, particularly her. He also had figured out a way of defending them, even if he didn’t know it at the time.

Nate lay next to where she stood, arm in a sling. He couldn’t move it, probably had some damage that could not be repaired. Eliot didn’t know other than trying to make the man more comfortable. Those herbs he had started experimenting with might save the older man’s life. Only time would tell.

Eliot had done everything, from clearing out the bodies of the creatures, to repairing the door to the bunker, to putting things back together. Both of them had dug the grave in which to bury Hardison. He couldn’t do everything. The man was entirely spent by the looks of it. She watched as he tinkered where Hardison’s supplies lay like he could take over the role that the younger man had filled.

“The message,” Eliot quietly said. “High-frequency pitch. It has to be high enough and long enough to do damage. If we can figure out how to rig something.”

“It’ll work. We’ll figure out something. Once Nate is better.”

“If he gets better. I’ve done all I can. Probably not good enough though.”

Sophie turned the man’s face to hers, forehead to forehead, the baby in between them. No matter what, they’d keep her safe for as long as they could.

“It’s not your fault. Don’t.”

“It should have been me.”

“He knew the risks. We all know the risks.”

Eliot dropped his head to Sophie’s shoulder. She could feel the tears soak through her shirt as he silently cried, body shaking as he did.

“You loved him?”

“With all my heart.”

“Then let’s make sure this child survives. Alright?”

As Sophie looked over at Nate, she saw that he had awoken, staring right at them. Parker had been sleeping right next to Nate, holding onto his arm as she did. She also awoke, startled at his movements. She wasn’t getting much sleep as it was, nightmares coming when she least expected it. Her sleeping next to Nate anchored her somehow.

This was one of those times that if Nate had any alcohol, he would have been deep into a bender so great, it would have taken days to recover. Only he couldn’t because there was nothing to use as a crutch. He slept way too much, even for a person who was injured. It was like he was starting to fade away, much like he did when Sam had died.

Crouching down, she decided that he needed something to live for. He had gone out that day with that shotgun knowing that he was going to die. And when he didn’t and Hardison did, it shattered him yet again.

Shaking his head no, he watched as Parker took the baby in her arms instead. As she placed a small kiss on her soft cheek, she turned to place the baby in Nate’s arms. He then protested again, until Parker finally begged him with her eyes that he had to take the baby, for her.

He only had one arm that he could use, but like a man who had already done this a lifetime ago, he figured it out. The baby wasn’t huge since it was a month early. Sophie watched as Nate looked down at the sleeping infant, face all scrunched up in sleep. Her lips moved like she was nursing in her sleep. Nate gently kissed the girl’s soft curls.

“I can’t,” he came out with.

“We still haven’t named her,” Parker pointed out.

“Baby girl is not a name,” Eliot replied as he sat down on Parker’s other side.

“Alexis?” Sophie suggested.

“Alexis Hardison-Spencer.”

Eliot looked at her like she was crazy. “We’re not married.”

“So?”

“So?”

“We could be?”

The infant opened its eyes and looked directly into Nate’s eyes. To say that the man melted at that moment was nothing short of a miracle.

“Hello Alexis,” Nate cooed as the girl looked as if she smiled back at him.

“Grandpa,” Parker said as she stroked over the girl’s toes.

“I am not old enough to be the child’s grandmother.”

Nate smirked a little. “Well…”

Eliot coughed a little like he was attempting to tell Nate not to go there.

“I mean, maybe,” Parker said as she laid her head on Nate’s good shoulder, looking down at her beautiful daughter. “Hardison would have made such a great father.”

She watched as Parker reached back to Eliot, pulling him into her other side.

What an odd family they made. They survived the worst, lost the best of them all. This small girl would know what a wonderful, generous father that she had. The four of them would make the world a better place when they could.


End file.
